Driven by the increasing public awareness of the impact of hurricanes and the devastation of coastal areas, Island(er)s at the Helm contributes to equipping (Dutch) Caribbean societies with proficient tools for confronting these challenging climatic phenomena.

Such adverse events have significant ecological, social, and cultural implications, affecting the basic living conditions (water, food, shelter-nexus/WFS-nexus) and heritage of the island inhabitants. This research builds on the principle that local-specific practices and ontologies of Caribbean societies are crucial for promoting sustainable WFS-nexus solutions. The project brings together researchers and societal partners to employ a mixture of technical, traditional, and contemporary knowledge practices for studying climate change adaptation through a long-term perspective.

The Island(er)s at the Helm program studies sustainable and inclusive solutions to climate challenges in the ABCSSS islands from different disciplines. Researchers and societal partners work together to combine technical, traditional and contemporary knowledge practices.

Through archaeology, anthropology, architecture, palaeoecology, palaeo-ethnobotany, musicology, urban planning, political science, and water management, they are mapping how residents of the ABCSSS islands cope with climate change through five interrelated work packages.

Island(er)s at the Helm has a participatory approach: research-based and societally relevant strategies for climate adaptation are developed in close collaboration with community stakeholders.

The program hosts regular participatory meetings, as well as larger stakeholder meetings twice a year. In May 2022, the seventh session was held at Axum Art Cafe in St. Maarten. In these meetings, societal partners and interested parties discuss the progress of the research and exchange knowledge and ideas with the research team.

A trans-Atlantic academic platform fosters research-based education on climate challenges for the six islands. This program will offer joint courses in cooperation with institutes in the region and the wider Kingdom of the Netherlands starting in January 2023.

One of the end objectives of the program is to develop a regional expertise center on climate challenges, where the Dutch Caribbean researchers can find employ, is one of the end objectives of this program.